The Mount Ida College men's lacrosse team dropped their second straight non-conference loss this past Saturday at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth falling 10-5. The Mustangs slump to an overall record of 0-2 and have yet to play a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest.
Senior midfielder Paul Battapaglia (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) scored twice for the Mustangs. Sophomore attacker Nick Yacuzzi (Worcester, MA/St. John's-Shrewsbury) contributed a goal and two assists while senior attackers Dan Harrington (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and Matt Savage (Peabody, MA/Peabody) each tallied a goal in the loss.
Eight players scored for the Corsairs during the contest. Senior midfielders Stephen Espinola (Groton, MA/Groton-Dunstable) and Bobby Smith (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield) led the way with two goals apiece. Espinola also added an assist. Senior attacker Josh Arsenault (Revere, MA/Malden Catholic) had a game-high four assists with a goal while junior attacker Nick Brett (Loudon, NH/Merrimack Valley/AIC) added a goal and an assist. Freshman midfielder Justin Lawless (Quincy, MA/Archbishop Williams) scored his first goal of the season.
UMass Dartmouth jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with 11:37 to play in the first quarter. Mount Ida added goals late in the first and second quarter, forcing a 2-2 tie at halftime. The Mustangs continued their offensive surge with two more goals to open the third quarter to take a 4-2 advantage. After a penalty was called on Mount Ida junior goalkeeper James McAllister (Smithfield, RI/LaSalle Academy) with 8:22 left in the third, the Corsairs scored twice on Mustang back up freshman goalkeeper Craig Bray (New Caanan, CT/Vermont Academy), allowing UMass Dartmouth to regain a 5-4 lead. The Corsairs never looked back, scoring twice more to close the third period and outscored Mount Ida 3-1 in the final period, securing the 10-5 victory.
The Corsairs outshot the Mustangs, 40-23, during the contest. Freshman goalkeeper Nick Thayer (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford HS) made nine saves for UMass-Dartmouth, while McAllister made 20 saves and Bray made one save for Mount Ida.
Mount Ida will visit Merchant Marine on Monday this coming Monday in New York with game time slated for 7:00 p.m.